NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD Vs. WAHID ALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO claim petitions titl0ed as Wahida Ali and Anr. v. Raghubir Singh and Ors. and Javeed Ahmad v. Raghubir Singh and Ors. came to be filed before the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jammu (herein referred to as the Tribunal below) where they came to be registered as Claim Petition Nos. 272 and 271 both of 1st May, 2001. These claim petitions are alleged to have taken place with respect to the one and the same Accident which took place on 22nd June, 1995 at Garote Morhe, National High Way when one Mubarak Ali Shah s/o. Hayat Ali Shah along with one Javeed Ahmad Bhat s/o. Gh. Mohd. Bhat resident of No. 98 Phase III, Industrial Area Gangyal, Jammu while coming towards Jammu City from Lakhanpur on his personal vehicle bearing registration No. 786 (sic) was hit by a rashly driven truck bearing Ch. No. 01-1/5305 driven by respondent No. 2 from opposite direction, as a result of which Mubarak Ali Shah and Javeed Ahmad Bhat sustained injuries and were removed to hospital, where Mubarak Ali shah succumbed to his injuries on 25th June, 1995 and Javeed Ahmad who was yet in his teens and was a student of 12th class became totally handicapped because of the said injury which the doctors came to call as Traumatic Quader Plegia which has resulted in his total disability.

(2.) THE respondents 1 and 2 resisted the claim petition inter alia on the ground that the offending vehicle does not belong to respondent No. 1, therefore, the claim petition is liable to be dismissed against them because of misjoinder of the parties. The appellant Insurance Company who are impleaded as respondents in claim petition also resisted the petition by stating inter alia that alleged driver respondents at the time of the Accident was not holding a valid and effective driving licence, hence are not liable to pay compensation. On 3rd August, 1996 the parties were put to the following main issues:

(3.) THE New India Assurance Company Limited which is respondent No. 3 in both the claim petitions feeling aggrieved of theaward has preferred the appeals in hand, wherein it has assailed the quantum of compensation.